In this production of the best loved classical ballet 'Swan Lake' the naturally gifted Yulia Makhalina dances the challenging role of Odette/Odile while the part of Prince Siegfried is danced by Igor Zelensky. This classic Kirov production includes the familiar happy ending in the final act where Siegfried fights and ultimately defeats the evil magician von Rothbart and at dawn is reunited with Odette.

On Friday 23 March 2012, The Royal Ballet broadcast over 9 hours of live rehearsals and interviews from The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on our YouTube channel. Join presenter George Lamb and guests Kristen McNally, Jonathan Cope and Wayne McGregor as the Company warm up for the day. Ballet Mistress - Olga Evreinoff, Piano - Kate Shipway

Join Royal Ballet dancers Letitia Stock, Marcelino Sambe and Claire Calvert live in the studio as they prepare for Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker under the direction of Ballet Master Christopher Carr.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score was commissioned by the director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, following the resounding success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. Marius Petipa created the scenario, which is based on a fairytale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Lev Ivanov provided the choreography. The Nutcracker was first performed in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. It initially had a poor reception, but its combination of enchanting choreography and unforgettable music has since made it one of the most loved of all ballets.

In Peter Wright’s classic production for The Royal Ballet, the stage sparkles with theatrical magic – a Christmas tree grows before our eyes, toy soldiers come to life to fight the villainous Mouse King and Clara and the Nutcracker are whisked off to the Kingdom of Sweets on a golden sleigh. Tchaikovsky’s score contains some of ballet’s best-known melodies, from the flurrying Waltz of the Snowflakes to the dream-like Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – all brilliantly set in Wright’s choreography. Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs draw upon 19th-century images of Christmas, making this magical production perfect for the festive season.

Kenneth MacMillan created the one-act ballet Anastasia for Deutsche Oper Ballet in 1967. He was inspired by the true story of Anna Anderson, a woman who believed herself to be Anastasia, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and the only survivor from the assassination of the Romanovs in 1918. Leaving the audience to decide the legitimacy of Anna’s claims, MacMillan created a haunting, expressionist work to Martinů’s Sixth Symphony, in which Anna is visited by confused nightmares of her life from the time of the massacre to her discovery in Berlin in 1920. The ballet won widespread acclaim on its premiere, particularly for the central performance of Lynn Seymour in the anguished title role. As MacMillan said in 1971, ‘I found in [Anna’s] story a theme that has sometimes appeared in my work before: the Outsider figure. Anastasia seems to me to be a supreme example of this’.

One of MacMillan’s first creative acts on becoming Director of The Royal Ballet was to adapt Anastasia into a three-act, full-length work, his first for the Company since Romeo and Juliet. He created two preceding acts to the Berlin act, using music by Tchaikovsky to explore Anna’s ‘memory’ of events in the Imperial family leading up to the Russian Revolution – providing a powerful context for the disturbed Anna’s nightmares of the final act. The full ballet, first performed in 1971, was a declaration of intent: it showcased MacMillan’s dual influences, of classical, Royal Ballet tradition in the first two acts, and of German expressionism – a style then entirely new to British audiences – in the final. The ballet remains one of MacMillan’s most experimental and poignant works.

(Audio Only) (55 Minutes, 57 Seconds)​"Daphnis Et Chloé, A Ballet In One Act And Three Scenes, By Maurice Ravel, Charles Dutoit!"From (Alejandro Vidal) of YouTube, Published on October 6, 2012

"THIS WAS A LOT OF FUN!"

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Amalia Hernandez, founder in 1952 of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, dancer and choreographer, started very young with the ongoing search for rescue dancistic traditions of Mexico. This search became a vital need for Mexico to project to the world: the beauty of the universe in motion from the pre-Columbian cultures, the Spanish influences in the viceroyalty to the popular strength of the revolutionary times.

Amalia started in 1952 its first performances that earned him fame as a cultural representative of Mexico. For the great success that the company achieved in its infancy and with the aim of turning the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico in the best company in the world, the President of the Republic, Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos, established by decree the Palacio de Bellas Arts as the permanent headquarters of this group.

The international success of the first tours that have been repeated throughout the 59 years of tireless artistic work remains in effect leaving the identity of Mexico through dance, music and the richness of our world in every town history.

Thus, since the fifties, Amalia Hernández and the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico have made the choreography for more than 120 ballets. In all music, technical rigor, elaborate costumes and original choreography created the unique nature of this company.

Becoming a professional ballerina is a journey that begins at a young age and is extremely competitive. We meet young girls devoting their lives to the profession, as well as the women, who end up on the very top, performing on stage at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

“Don Quixote”, “Carmen Suite” and “Nutcracker” are among the greatest ballets, popular with fans all over the world. Viewers enjoy the beauty and glory of the ballet universe,perhaps unaware that a ballerinas’ precise pirouettes and elegant steps are the result of many hours of exhaustive training and rehearsal. It takes a lifetime of hard work and dedication to prove themselves worthy of a major role. However, only very few are destined to perform solo parts, the rest will continue to dance in the corps de ballet.

Real life for a ballerina is a long way from the fairy tale roles they depict on stage. Young girls spend many hours in tough training and endless castings to show off their perfect form and talent. From childhood they devote their lives to a professional path through ballet academies, shut away from family and friends. They have no personal time, their days are given over to endless practice from early morning to late at night. In addition to a harsh training schedule and permanent diet, many talented young dancers must contend with cruel whispers and taunting giggles from jealous rivals. However stamina and a strong will help them to pursue their dream of dancing solo on the world-famous Bolshoi and Mariinsky stages.

Being a professional ballet dancer demands real strength and fitness in both miond and body. Russia’s most famous and celebrated prima ballerina, Diana Vishneva, knows firsthand, the real cost of achieving success and adoration from an audience.

RT Doc lifts the veil on the ballet world and meets the young girls who sacrifice the best of their lives to the art of classical dance.

The Nutcracker Soundtrack by Bonn Classical Philharmonics & Heribert Beissel. This is the Christmas edition, though when I was looking around, there is no difference in the songs from the other editions. Any songs that you think are missing, may be due to the insertion of other songs. It is not uncommon for dance troupes to add songs as needed if they have a lot of people.

A lot of people have been commenting that this is not the complete version (that they know of). Below I have a quote from Wikipedia which I hope answers why.

​"Although the original ballet is only about 85 minutes long if performed without applause or an intermission, and therefore much shorter than either Swan Lake or The Sleeping Beauty, some modern staged performances have omitted or re-ordered some of the music, or inserted selections from elsewhere, thus adding to the confusion over the suites. In fact, most of the very famous versions of the ballet have had the order of the dances slightly re-arranged, if they have not actually altered the music. For instance, the 1954 George Balanchine New York City Ballet version adds to Tchaikovsky's score an entr'acte that the composer wrote for Act II of The Sleeping Beauty, but which is now seldom played in productions of that ballet. It is used as a transition between the departure of the guests and the battle with the mice. Nearly all of the CD and LP recordings of the complete ballet present Tchaikovsky's score exactly as he originally conceived it."

(Audio Only) ​(40 Minutes, 4 Seconds)"Music and Dance: Ballet Music with Solo Instrumental Piano Songs!"From (bBuddhaTribe) of YouTube, Published on September 23, 2013

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​Dance of the Little Swans. Vaganova Academy auditions young dancers.

​Many young girls dream of becoming ballerinas, but only very few are prepared to apply the all-out effort and make the sacrifices that this dream demands. The famous Vaganova Ballet Academy in St.Petersburg welcomes the most talented and determined young dancers, but it makes them no promises.

Being a professional ballet dancer is an exhausting job. To live a fairy-tale on stage, ballet dancers have to suffer for their art behind the scenes: they follow a gruelling training schedule and stick to a strict diet. From an early age, they live in the ballet academy so that they can dedicate the most time possible to their training. As a consequence they are separated from their families. They leave their friends and their schools behind, and enter a new, very competitive environment, where it’s difficult to form friendships as their classmates are also their rivals.

However, young hopefuls who make these sacrifices may find they are not enough to achieve their dreams. On top of all their hard work, professional ballerinas must have the right physique and be good looking. Besides, the challenging training regime may lead to injuries that can potentially put an end to their careers.

Still, none of this deters young girls who are in love with dance and are determined to make it their career. They travel from across Russia to St. Petersburg, where they audition to enter the world-renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy. They are ready to trade a carefree childhood for a chance to become ballerinas and shine on stage. However, very few of them will be accepted to study in the famous academy since it has very high standards. As many of its past graduates have become international ballet stars, it has a rich heritage and a reputation that must be maintained.

Vaganova Ballet Academy was founded in 1738 by Imperial Decree of Empress Anna in the then-capital of Russia, St. Petersburg. Initially it was named the Imperial Ballet School, but as times and the country’s political systems changed, so did its titles. In 1957, the school was renamed in honour of its teacher, Agrippina Vaganova, who became famous for developing the method of classical ballet training that is still taught there.

Head of Vaganova Ballet Academy is Nikolay Tsiskaridze, former Principle Dancer of The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. He holds the title of People's Artist of Russia and has received numerous other honours and accolades. Over his career, Nikolai Tsiskaridze has performed over 70 roles in major classical and contemporary ballets. Prior to joining the Vaganova Ballet School, he taught at the Bolshoi Theatre as well as at the Moscow Ballet Academy. He has been a member of the President's Council for Culture and Arts since 2011.

Today, the Academy has 340 students, and competition for a place here is extremely tough. Each year, thousands of children audition, but only around 70 are accepted. In total, only about half of each year's intake will complete the eight year curriculum and graduate. Those who persevere are rewarded with contracts with the leading ballet companies in Russia and abroad.

RT Doc meets some of the young hopefuls storming the doors of the famous Academy to find out more about the dream they share, and to follow them on their first steps towards achieving it.